TRP: Goro and Roddy (Cave)
Lina: at 8:45 PM Sometime after day 153, exact date TBD. The scrying pool outside Skyport. Fucking nothing. He'd spent hours walking himself to Skyport, and had hours to go on the way back, and for fuck all. Stepped into the pond, picked one of the mushrooms, and ate it, thinking: Scion of Gruumsh. And absolutely nothing happened. He thought maybe the mushrooms themselves didn't work anymore, so he tested one, thinking randomly of one of his possessions. When he did that, a vision of his bedroom flooded his mind, same way the visions always had. Maybe the Scion of Gruumsh wasn't real. Who fuckin' knew. He threw a rock at the cave wall in irritation, then started back toward the entrance. Muse: at 8:50 PM Going to Skyport had been a good idea, Roddy was feeling a lot more settled, and he'd even had a great idea while he was there too! That scrying pool might be able to help find the Scion. It was a walk but Roddy didn't mind. The new goggles were really handy for being able to see as he wandered inside and over towards the pool. Only there was noises. A rock clattered, some splashing. Roddy grabbed his lute, ready to strum out a spell, peeked around the corner and- "Goro!" he called. That guy. "What are you doing here?" he asked, setting the lute back. Lina: at 8:52 PM Goro about jumped out of his skin at hearing his name called, but he relaxed quick enough when he recognized the voice it belonged to. "Roddy?" he said, squinting. Guy was wearing those weird goggles. "What are you doing here?" Muse: at 8:54 PM "I was gonna use the pool for- hey! No you first," Roddy crosses his arms, glaring. Lina: at 8:57 PM Goro snorted. "Fair. I figured I'd give it a go for finding out more about this Scion of Gruumsh shit Luci was talking about. Fuckin' nothing, for the record. Huge waste of time." Muse: at 8:58 PM "What really?" That was disappointing. "That's what I was gonna do. Are you sure it didn't work?" Lina: at 9:00 PM Goro waved toward the pool. "Welcome to try it yourself. Maybe you should, actually. Might work for someone who isn't me." Muse: at 9:04 PM "Well- I think I will then." Roddy brushed by, grabbing a mushroom on the way. He knew how this worked. Eat the mushroom, stand in the pool, think reeeeeeeally hard about the Scion, and wait while nothing happened. "I think it's broken," he finally called over to Goro. "I'm not getting anything either." Lina: at 9:05 PM "It's not broken," Goro called back, and wandered over so they wouldn't have to yell. "I tried another one and thought about a notebook I have in my bedroom. Gave me a vision just like usual. There's something about the Scion of Gruumsh that we can't see." Muse: at 9:10 PM "Well that's just-" Roddy kicked at the water, splashing it around. "How else are we supposed to find the Scion?" he ranted. "Run around asking nicely? 'Hey there you you're an orc, you wouldn't happen to be the Scion?' Like that'd work." Lina: at 9:30 PM "Probably... probably not, yeah. I'll be honest, kid, I'm skeptical such a thing even exists now. I don't know where Luci got her information; I'll have to ask her. Maybe ask Amari, too." Muse: at 9:53 PM "Hey! Luci's smart, I'm sure she did her research," Roddy protested, glaring again. "And it's not like you've got better ideas," he grumbled, trudging out of the pool. "Gods are a little bit harder to kill than abominations you know." Lina: at 9:55 PM Goro rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah? I wouldn't know. Didn't quite make it to that fight. You've got experience killing gods too, do you?" Muse: at 9:58 PM "No and that's my- hey do you hear something?" Roddy instinctively reached out, grabbing Goro's arm. There was some sort of skittering noise. Then it poked it's head around the corner: A goblin. Goro reacted first, blasting it into oblivion. It must have had friends though. There was chattering and scampering as they fled. Roddy didn’t think it was a big deal, really. Goblins, realizing that they were outclassed and fleeing- smart move on their part. And then there was other noises. Something else coming in the room. Not goblins. Some sort of mass of tentacles with three red eyes and a mouth full of sharp teeth. Aboleth. Roddy wanted to run- except the thing was blocking the exit. They’d have to fight. It was a blur. Roddy was singing, screaming, ducking. Trying to hurt it a lot more than it hurt him. Wasn’t sure he succeeded, but a couple times hand on his arm, his shell, and muttered prayers and it kept him up enough to keep going. Had a chance to return the favor too. The battle stretched on, and- something fuzzy seemed to happen. Roddy found himself standing still and not reacting to what was going on. Huh, that’s different. But surprisingly unworrying. And then something slammed into his chest. Hard enough to send him crashing into the wall. His head snapped back and stars exploded in his vision. Looked up, and was seeing double. Two Aboleths, and both had a Goro. That wasn’t good. Roddy reached for his lute- cracked from the collision, but playable, and managed to strum out a single note. The noise he made was choked, but it was enough. A loud thunderclap echoed in the cave. Rocks started to fall. And then the ceiling gave in and buried it in a pile of rubble. Was Goro okay? Roddy squinted but- he couldn’t see. And it was getting dark. Goggles were supposed to help with that… Lina: at 10:16 PM There was a ringing in Goro's ears so loud it drowned out everything else. The aboleth's tentacles were still on him, but they were limp. He wormed his way free, dislodging a pile of rocks from on top of himself too. He grimaced and touched the side of his head. Nasty headache. Nothing broken, though. The ringing began to fade, and he could hear more rocks clattering off him as he scooted farther from the aboleth's corpse. He looked around, blinking through the darkness. "Roddy. Where'd you go?" He dragged himself to his feet, kept wincing and rubbing his head. Fuck, the walls and ceiling had caved in. There was a mountain of rubble, and Roddy... fuck fuck fuck, where was-- Ah, no, he'd been out of the way. He was slumped by the wall a few feet back, closer to the pond. Goro scrambled over to him and dropped to the ground beside him. He yanked those stupid goggles off and tossed them aside, and his hands came away wet and slick. He whispered a cantrip for more light to see by, lighting up a stone protruding from the wall above. Fuck. Oh, fuck, he'd hit his head hard. Was still breathing, though. "Roddy." Goro reached into his wand for the Foxtail. Might even have to give the Leech a try, because fuck. "Roddy, can you hear me?" Used up the first charge to close the wounds on the back of Roddy's head. It wasn't the external damage that could kill him, though. Muse: at 10:18 PM "Mmmm," Roddy groaned, weakly flapping his hand and trying to get that way-to-bright light away. Felt like he had lead weights on his arms so he gave up and dropped it. "Too bright," he complained. Oh hang on. "Oh hey G'ro you didn't die." Lina: at 10:21 PM "I sure didn't, pal. Thanks for that." He put out the light on the stone above. Chose a small rock from the ground and cast the cantrip again, then quickly held the rock over each of Roddy's eyes in turn, watching his pupils constrict. That was good. (And good thing that also happened in tortles, apparently. Goro hadn't known for sure.) He tossed the rock a few feet away. "You remember where we are?" Muse: at 10:24 PM Ow that light stung. Roddy twitched his head and tried to glare, but his head still really hurt. "Why do you wanna know?" he muttered. Lina: at 10:28 PM Goro laughed weakly. That was... classic Roddy, alright. "I need to ask you some things, to make sure you didn't hurt your brain. You know, 'cause that fat old noggin of yours took a beating. Here." Goro took both of Roddy's hands in his own. "Squeeze my hands. Both of them. Squeeze tight." Muse: at 10:31 PM "You got fatter head," Roddy muttered back. But he squeezed. It was hard, felt like his right arm was really slipping, didn't want to listen to him. "Izzat good?" Lina: at 10:32 PM "What's going on over here, buddy?" Goro waved Roddy's right hand a little. "Your arm hurt, or just your head?" Muse: at 10:34 PM "Both. Everything hurts." Roddy squinted at it, trying to see. Too dark too. Goggles were supposed to help with that. "Isn't listening." Lina: at 10:36 PM "What isn't listening? The arm?" Goro used another charge from the wand on the left side of Roddy's head, then took both his hands again. "Let's try now." Muse: at 10:37 PM Hey that helped. Roddy felt less- confused. Still hurt though. He squeezed again, tight as he could. It was easier now. "That feels better," he commented. Lina: at 10:39 PM "Oh good," Goro said, voice breathy from too much air, the relief making his heart pound. He pointed his finger and held it up in front of Roddy's face. "Next thing. Can you see my finger alright? Is there enough light for you?" Muse: at 10:40 PM "No there's not enough light. Don't have darkvision, unlike some people," Roddy complained, ignoring the finger and glaring at Goro. Or where he was pretty sure Goro was. "I had goggles for that- where'd they go?"(edited) Lina: at 10:43 PM "They're right over there." Goro jerked his head in their direction. "You can't put 'em on yet, though. I need to check your eyes. Hang on." He crawled over to grab the lighted rock he'd tossed before and brought it back over, setting it on the ground beside them. He held up his finger again. "I'm going to move my hand around and I want you to follow my finger with your eyes. Alright? Not your whole head, just your eyes." Muse: at 10:46 PM Roddy let out a long, put upon sigh. What was with all these tests anyway? Maybe Goro was doing a few unnecessary ones just cause. Better to go along than not though. He was feeling better after that healing from the hand-squeezing. "All right. There's enough light now." Lina: at 10:51 PM Goro moved his hand far to the left, then the right, then up and down. Roddy's eyes tracked him steadily, and Goro couldn't help grinning and patting him on the shoulder. "Good. Good, good. Your eyes are working right. The part of your brain that lets you see is back here, did you know?" Goro patted the back of his own head. "Uh, at least... it is in humans, and elves, and orcs. Guess I've never examined a tortle this much before. But it's got to be a good sign. Here, I'll get your damn goggles. Can you move your legs and feet?" Goro leaned over, grabbed the goggles, and passed them to Roddy. Muse: at 10:55 PM "Fascinating," Roddy said. He meant to say it sarcastically, but it turns out that was actually kinda neat. He eagerly grabbed for his goggles, stopping long enough to say, "They were expensive you know!" before pulling them on. Obediently he wiggled around his legs and feet- and it sent a lance of pain shooting up back. "Ooow. I think I hurt my shell." Lina: at 10:59 PM "Ah, ah, alright, don't move." Goro held his hands up. Fuck, he didn't know shit about shells. How bad was this? He got to his feet and positioned himself as close to the wall as he could. He put a hand on Roddy's shell, gentle as he could. He twirled the Foxtail wand in his other hand. Two charges left, and he was out of magic. "Take it easy. Lean forward real slow. You got any magic left?" Muse: at 11:16 PM "Yeah." Roddy said, gritting his teeth and leaning forwards. Ow ow ow that hurt. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes but he determinedly kept his mouth shut. Wasn't gonna cry, wasn't gonna cry... A crack had opened up in Roddy's shell. About three inches long, and bleeding heavily. Lina: at 11:19 PM Goro used the remaining charges on the crack, and watched the thing close up. "That better?" He kept his voice casual. Nothing to be concerned about, nothing at all. Everything was fine, they weren't totally fucking fucked if Roddy was still seriously hurt-- Muse: at 11:22 PM Oh that was a relief. Roddy nodded, pulling his legs up and hugging them lightly. Still kinda hurt, but more in a 'distant ache' than 'agony' sort of way. "Thanks," he said, without looking up. Lina: at 11:25 PM "Yeah, it's nothing." Goro leaned one hand against the cave wall, looking down at the top of Roddy's head. Ah, fuck, that had scared him. The kid probably didn't even know how close he'd come to biting it. No reason to tell him, either. Everything was fine. Well, except... Goro glanced over at the mountain of rubble that stood between them and the exit. "So, uh. We might be fucked." Muse: at 11:32 PM "What? Why do you- oh." Roddy had looked up, and seen the giant pile of rock. "Well. I do have some magic left. I could- try Shatter again. That worked when we were rescuing Ripley, remember?" That would be pushing it though. Roddy wasn't sure how much magic he had left but it wasn't that much. Lina: at 11:36 PM "Uh, Roddy. Buddy. Pal." Goro winced. "Shatter was what made all this happen in the first place, right?" He waved his arm at the rubble. "You'll have forgive me if I'm questioning the integrity of these cave walls. So no. No Shatter. We could--well, I was going to suggest we pick our way out, but that might not be any better. Ah, fuck. If you've got the magic for it, maybe you should just call for help. You know, we've got a friend who can--" He snapped his fingers a few times. "Snap-crack us out of here, possibly." Muse: at 11:47 PM Roddy hesitated a long moment, chewing his lip. "That's a good idea," he said slowly. "I'm- not sure if I got the magic for it though." And if he did manage to he'd probably get burnt out and be useless for a few days. Like when he'd got poisoned and nearly died. "I can- I can try though," he said, determined. Sat up a little straighter, winced as that pulled at his not-completely-healed shell. The Gekker was dinged up, but playable, and he strummed at it a bit, trying to summon up what magic was left. "Lesse. Trapped at scrying pool outside Skyport. With Goro. Cave-in. Mildly hurt, out of magic. Help." Not yet casting the spell, just figuring out what words to use when he did. Lina: at 11:49 PM Goro gave him a thumbs up. "Worst case scenario, we spend the night in here and I'll have my own magic back. We can send another message. Worst worst case scenario, I've got a spell that can make food and water for us. Won't be anything fancy, but it'll keep us alive." Muse: at 11:55 PM "You forgot if the monsters come back," Roddy muttered, shooting a nervous glance at the landslide. "Or what if there's no airholes in here and we suffocate? I've heard stories about caves flooding too maybe that happens and--" Lina: at 11:57 PM "Alright, alright, just, calm down." Goro reached out for him, but stopped just short of patting his shell. Probably still hurt. "We won't be in here that long. You had your message ready, yeah? Who you sending to, Hansel? He'll know what to do, Roddy." Actually, Goro had no fucking idea if he'd know what to do, but he wouldn't sit around fretting about it at least. He'd do something. Maybe Send back some words of reassurance for Roddy. December 26, 2018 Muse: at 12:03 AM Right. Calm. Panicking never helped anybody. Calm worked. Calm. Roddy nodded, taking a few deep breaths. Besides he couldn't cast while panicked, if anything he should wait till after the message went out to freak out. He turned his attention back to his lute, humming and singing softly. It usually didn't take much to cast spells. A bar at most. But this time- he ran through the entire song and was still coming up not-quite-there. This wasn't gonna work. Roddy shifted, picking a different song. Something more forceful. Instead of coaxing the magic up, he reached out and yanked. Felt something give. But also felt the spell settle. "Trapped at scrying pool outside Skyport with Goro. Cave-in. Mildly hurt, out of magic. Help," he rushed out breathlessly. Muse: at 12:13 AM It went through. Roddy heard the answer- "Be there soon. Don't move. I've got you." For a second he was reassured. Everything was gonna be okay. And then the backlash of overextending his magic set in and he hunched over, clutching his chest and crying out. It burned. He didn't remember this from last time. Felt like his insides were being scraped out with a hot poker. Lina: at 12:16 AM "Hey, hey, hey! What's going on? You alright?" Goro dropped to Roddy's side again, one hand--gently--on his shell, the other hovering tentatively for a moment before squeezing Roddy's hand. Fucking fuck, what was this about? Muse: at 12:18 AM "Magic overuse," Roddy said through gritted teeth. "Didn't- didn't really have enough for that." It seemed like it was fading. A little. He hoped. "I was fine after a few days last time. Just- sucked for a while." Lina: at 12:19 AM "Shit." Hell if Goro knew how to fix that. "Did it... did it go through?" Muse: at 12:19 AM Roddy nodded. "Hansel replied. Heard him. Went through." Lina: at 12:21 AM Goro blew out the breath he'd been holding. "See? We're gonna be fine." He realized he was still squeezing Roddy's hand, and he let it go. Went to pat him on the shell before remembering it had been cracked. He sat back, scooting around so he could sit against the wall himself. "What'd he say?" Muse: at 12:25 AM "Said he'd be here soon and not to move. Like we'd be in trouble if we could move," Roddy said sourly. Hesitated a bit, because there was something else but Roddy wasn't sure if he wanted to share that one. That was to him and- Roddy wasn't gonna fight about it any more but that didn't mean he was happy about the thing with Goro. Yeah. He'd keep that last bit to himself. It wasn't important for Goro to know anyway. Lina: at 12:37 AM Goro had the feeling there'd been more to the message, and Roddy didn't want to tell him. That was fine. Probably said love you or something like that. Goro watched Roddy out the corner of his eye for a minute. He looked grouchy, and Goro had a feeling he knew what it was about. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Hey, Roddy. You know I love him, right? Like, really fucking love him. I'm not gonna... do whatever it is you're worried I'm gonna do to him." Muse: at 12:47 AM Roddy looked up, just enough to look at Goro out of one eye. The burning sensation had mostly faded, and the fact he was stuck with Goro was getting higher on the priority list. He mulled it over a minute too, trying to figure out his answer. "You're a good liar," he said finally. "I'd- like to believe that for Hansel's sake. But." He didn't, but that didn't need to be said. Roddy shifted, trying to figure out how to lean back against the wall without hurting his shell too much. Decided on resting against his side- turned towards Goro. They were gonna be stuck for a while. And Goro had helped him a lot- maybe saved his life. Maybe- he could try for a civil conversation. Lina: at 12:51 AM "Yeah. That's fair. I am a good liar." Goro nodded at him. "You're not so bad at it yourself, when you want to be. But you didn't learn how to tell when someone else is lying?" Muse: at 12:55 AM Roddy shook his head slightly. "I was a distraction, mostly," he said. "Y'know, be loud and attention getting and show off in the middle of town square, and the others would set to picking pockets." And he- liked to believe people told him the truth. People didn't lie unless they had a reason. Roddy had reasons. But maybe others might not. Lina: at 12:57 AM "You want some tips?" Muse: at 12:58 AM "Why are you offering?" Lina: at 1:03 AM Goro shrugged. "It's a useful skill to have. Gullibility makes you vulnerable. Eventually it makes you suspicious, which it seems like you've already arrived at. It'd be nice if you actually, you know, believed me when I was telling the truth." He smiled a little and rolled his eyes. "But it's for your own sake, first and foremost. You know, that shitter Amren, he was an amazing fucking liar. You should know how to hold your own against people like that." Muse: at 3:48 PM Goro wasn't wrong. Which kinda peeved Roddy a little bit. "Yeah well-" he started to retort, and then had to stop and try to figure out how to finish it. And couldn't. "Amren was always better at everything," he said bitterly, rolling a pebble around in his hand. Still wasn't entirely sure if he believed Goro, he had a point about 'knowing when he was telling the truth' but he was also trying to act like there was an altruistic side too. Roddy wasn't sure he trusted that. Lina: at 3:51 PM "Better at being a piece of shit, that's for sure. Man, that kid's a waste of air. Something ought to be done about him." Goro didn't specify what, since he knew that side of him freaked Roddy out, but still. Muse: at 3:57 PM He didn't have to. Roddy'd been hanging around this bunch enough to fill in the blanks. "Well don't kill him," he blurted out. "He's an arrogant know it all that likes to think he knows best and framed me for murder but I don't want him dead." Made Roddy's stomach twist weird to think about it. Didn't know why, Amren'd always been terrible. He'd just- always been there, too. Lina: at 3:58 PM Goro raised an eyebrow. "Moral compunction, or because he's family?" Muse: at 3:59 PM "What?" What did that matter? "I don't know. I just don't want him dead is all." Lina: at 4:01 PM "Gosh, see, and I do want him dead. It's like how some people love turnips and I can't stand them. Don't worry, though, I won't kill him, for your sake." He smiled. "Now, was that me lying, or telling the truth?" Muse: at 4:04 PM "How am I supposed to know?" Roddy was getting agitated, starting to shift around but freezing as that made his back hurt. "You get this- this look and you just look all ready to stab someone and I don't know if you're really telling the truth on the holding back or not!" Lina: at 4:09 PM "Well, that's the question. How are you supposed to know? That one was a trick, though, because I wasn't totally lying or telling the truth. Right now, alright, I'll back off, I won't kill Amren. But if Amren starts threatening you or anyone else in our family, then I'll fucking gut him. That's the funny nature of truth, you know. It can change over time. Depending on circumstances, or depending on who's looking at it. You gotta understand nuance, if you want to be able to smell a lie." Muse: at 8:46 PM "Did I ever say I was gonna listen to you?" Roddy cried, finding a small pebble and throwing it at Goro's head in agitation. "I didn't ask for lessons in lying! And who says I'd wanna learn from you?" Roddy shuffled, hissing in pain as it sent twinges down his shell, until his back was to Goro this time. Pushy, rude, obnoxious, clerics. Why couldn't he mind his own business and stay outta Roddy's. Hmph. Lina: at 8:58 PM Goro stifled a laugh at the pebble. Then he noticed the way Roddy hissed as he moved. "You still hurt?" Already he was reaching a hand inside his robe, fingers on the Leech. "I, uh. I got one other thing I can try, if you need more healing." Muse: at 9:03 PM "I'm fine," Roddy snapped. Sounding more sulky than anything. Didn't feel like it was too severe, just sore. And like it shouldn't be bumped around too much. "Just leave me alone." Lina: at 9:17 PM "Alright, alright." Glancing at his shell, it looked alright, anyway. Bones sometimes ached for a while after you mended them, so could be that. Goro was relieved he wouldn't have to attempt to use the Leech, anyway. Seemed like a waste to break it on Cure Wounds instead of Resurrection. Muse: at 9:31 PM Finally he shut up. Roddy hugged himself and stared off into the darkness of the cave. Freaking Goro. Kept pestering Roddy about all the 'lying' stuff and trying to act like he didn't know- Roddy knew stuff. Sometimes. Just had trouble putting it into practice. And- Goro'd said he'd kill Amren if he threatened Roddy. Used the term 'our' family too. What was his angle. Had to be up to something. Or- or maybe. Maybe he meant it? Didn't seem right. But he was Roddy's teammate. Roddy'd saved his life- and he had a pretty strong feeling Goro had saved his in return. Situation like this- woulda been easy to let him die. Didn't though. Maybe. Maybe Roddy should try believing him. (That did not settle well.) Roddy ignored it. He was- team. And that meant they had each other's backs. (And if Goro didn't, well, these people listened. Just so long as Roddy had proof.) Roddy didn't know how long it had been that he'd sat around sulking. It felt like it had been a while, but eventually he shuffled back around so he could look at Goro again. There were a lot of things he could say. Roddy settled on, "Hey." Lina: at 9:33 PM Goro raised his eyebrows. "Yeah?" Muse: at 9:33 PM "...Sorry. For throwing a rock at you." Lina: at 9:34 PM Goro grinned. "Oh, I forgive you. I'm very... throw-rock-at-able." Muse: at 9:41 PM Roddy flashed a grin to, small and wan. "Apparently I agree." He shifted slightly, pulling one leg up and resting his chin on his knee. Studied Goro a moment. He looked- not murder-y. Almost like a normal person. Probably looked more normal than Roddy did. "Did you mean it?" Lina: at 9:42 PM "Did I mean what?" Muse: at 9:44 PM All of it. But that was too much. Pick- pick one thing. Maybe two. What was the most important... "You said 'our family'," Roddy said finally. Making himself stay fixed on Goro's face. "Did you mean it?" Lina: at 9:51 PM Goro sighed. He fiddled with a pebble on the ground--possibly the one Roddy had thrown at him. "I'm... I'm trying. I mean, I've never had a family. I've got Amari. And Joan, I guess. But, not like... a group. Been in gangs, but it's not the same. They'll shank you if they think they can get a good meal out of it. Shouldn't be that way, but it is. I always thought, growing up, that a real family would be different. I wanted a big one, where everyone loved each other, and they got in fights still probably, but at the end of the day they were always there for each other." He hadn't looked up from the pebble. Seemed weird, now, to be saying all this stuff to Roddy, but since he'd got started it didn't make sense to stop. "On Candlenight I thought, god. Look at you all." He waved a hand through the air. "That's a family right there. And me, I'm not a part of it. Not really. Joan and Hansel love me, and I guess Ombre likes me too, and Nixie, well she loves everyone. But me, I'm not... part of the group. I lift right out. And I hate that. I want to change it." He made himself look Roddy in the eye, but quickly dropped his chin again. "So, um. To answer your question. I'd like it to be my family. I'm working on it." Muse: at 10:04 PM "Oh." That was- that sounded a lot more honest than Roddy'd expected. Goro was a weird, skeevy, murderer, Roddy was set on that, but it seemed like- there may be more too him than that. "Back- back in the circus," he said hesitantly. "I had a family. I don't- I don't think it was a good one though. Esran and Arynis... Well. Everyone else called them my parents. But they never did. Didn't like it when I called them Mom and Dad either. Gave up, eventually." Talking about this was hard. Roddy found another pebble and started fiddling with that instead of looking at Goro. "They used to- they'd threaten to sell me. To get me to behave. People said they were joking but. I dunno." "I like the new family better," he said decisively. "They care y'know? Not just- put up with. Maybe some people," he allowed, thinking about Larkin, "but we look out for each other. We- saved each other even if we don't get along," he said with a crooked attempt at a grin. It faded quickly. "It's- it's lonely. Feeling like nobody cares." Lina: at 10:09 PM Goro stared at him for a while, speechless. "God, that's... that's fucking awful, Roddy. The shit about selling you, I mean. And not letting you call them Mom and Dad." He thought of how Amari had burst into tears, happy tears, the first time he called her Ma. "Has anyone ever told you how fucked up that is?" Muse: at 10:18 PM "Not that bad," Roddy muttered, looking off to the side. "They never did. And I wasn't ever scared for my life except that- I wasn't afraid of them. And I liked the circus. Like performing." The people... Could have been better. But being on-stage was great. Lina: at 10:22 PM "Pretty fucking bad," Goro insisted, but he dropped it. "Well, you get to perform still now, don't you? You got a knack for it, I'll say that much. A natural showman. You oughtta get down to Glimmerton more, hit up the bars. They're desperate for some good entertainment." Muse: at 10:27 PM That was- that was weirdly nice. "Yeah," Roddy agreed, quietly. "Practice a lot," he added. He tossed his pebble from hand to hand. "I don't- I wouldn't mind if you wanted to- come along," he offered. Lina: at 10:30 PM Oh, fuck. Fuck, this was like, a gesture of friendship. He had to be careful not to screw it up. Had to sound open to the idea, but not suspiciously nice. No sucking up, or anything. That'd just be weird. He nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah that'd be good. It's been a while since I just... went out to listen to music or stories, or what have you." Muse: at 10:36 PM Oh. Good. Okay then. That was settled then. They'd- do that. Roddy kept tossing his pebble a bit more, and then something else occurred to him. "Hey how good are you at picking pockets? We could do that thing we did at my circus. I distract, you could steal. Then again they like us in Glimmerton. If we did that next time something bad happens they might not give us as much leeway." Lina: at 10:43 PM Hah. Look at them, being regular partners. "Eh. I'm decent, but nothing special. You want someone rock fucking solid at picking pockets, hit up Larkin. She'll never let you down. 'Course, she probably won't give you a cut of what she steals, either." He smiled and shook his head. "Nah, my real talent is scamming people. Watch me work the crowd, milking people into giving donations for your elocution lessons or whatever the fuck. Then we'll get rich and they'll love us." Muse: at 11:06 PM "And then we won't get in trouble with the law!" Roddy said, happy and excited. This was a good plan. "Might actually be able to teach them some stuff for real too. I'm good with voices." Hey he should share that trick with Ombre. She liked pranks, she'd probably have a ton of good ideas. Roddy fell quiet again, reaching for his lute and idly picking out a tune. No magic, wasn't going to be magic for a few days, but something soft and easy to play, to fill the silence and keep his hands busy. Izzy: at 11:07 PM Gravelly crunching noises came from where the cave entrance had been -- the sound of rocks being shifted, and shattered, and with brutal efficiency, removed to allow daylight to begin peeking in. The work continued, rapidly, and then a crucial layer of stone was pulled away, and the rest crumbled. In the opening stood a seven-and-a-half-foot tall goliath woman who was familiar to Goro: Vaala Stonecrusher, Amren's apparent friend. She squinted into the darkness of the cavern, shouldered her warhammer, and wiped an arm across her forehead. "Anyone injured?"(edited) Lina: at 11:11 PM Well, that was... not the person Goro had been hoping to see coming to his rescue, but uh, interesting. He wondered if she still wanted to strangle him. He put a hand over his mouth and nudged Roddy to answer. Muse: at 11:14 PM Ow. Roddy had a bruise there, thank you very much. He rubbed at it a little and pulled himself up. "Hallo!" he called, waving. "Yeah uh? Mildly? My friend's a cleric though so we're mobile." It kinda hurt to walk but Roddy could manage. Izzy: at 11:16 PM Vaala ducked into the cave and offered a hand out to Roddy to help him. "I can heal you. Let's get outside." She squinted into the shadows, still not quite able to see Goro, and attached her warhammer to her back in order to offer him a hand as well. Lina: at 11:18 PM Goro cleared his throat and pitched his voice lower than normal. "Uh, I'm good, thanks. My friend's the one who's hurt." God fucking damnit, and no magic left to disguise himself, either. He lingered behind, waiting to give them a head start. Muse: at 11:21 PM Roddy accepted the hand, shooting Goro a weird look. What was up with that? "You sure you're all right? You sound strange. Didn't get punched in the throat or something did you?" That didn't make sense though, Goro'd been talking fine up till now. Lina: at 11:21 PM "M'good." Izzy: at 11:25 PM Vaala looked between them, frowning, but led Roddy carefully out of the cave and into the light. Once they were on the path, she looked over Roddy's shell and laid a gentle hand against it, easing his pain further with a bright cyan magical glow. "You're going to be all right," she said firmly, then looked back towards Goro. Lina: at 11:26 PM Goro kept a hand in front of his mouth, and squinted fiercely in the daylight. "Bright out here," he grunted. Izzy: at 11:30 PM She looked Goro up and down once he was in the light, and visibly scowled. "Hm." Then back to Roddy, thinking. "Hey. Question. You Rodger Hammerstein?" Muse: at 11:30 PM "The Third," he automatically added. Then it hit him. "Hey. How'd you know my name?" Lina: at 11:31 PM Ah, fuck. Did Roddy speak anything but Common? Maybe Hansel had been teaching him Orcish. "Don't fucking tell her anything," Goro tried. Muse: at 11:34 PM Roddy shot Goro a quizzical look. He vaguely recognized the sound of that- it sounded like Orcish- but he couldn't make out any of the words. "Can you try that in Common? I don't speak- that's Orcish right?" Izzy: at 11:36 PM Again, Vaala looked between them, frowning. She did not know Orcish. She brushed it off. "You go by Roddy, yeah? Can I call you Roddy?" Lina: at 11:36 PM "Uh, we gotta go. Thanks for the rescue, though. 'Preciate it." Goro stepped forward and attempted to link his arm through Roddy's. Muse: at 11:37 PM Goro was acting really weird. But he was trusting him now so Roddy let him link arms and pull him along. "Uh, yeah sure. But we gotta go now. Bye!" he called over his shoulder, waving. Izzy: at 11:42 PM "Huh." She frowned after them, and raised a hand, and considered not saying anything. But then she hesitated, and called, "Roddy, hey. Keep an eye out for Amren." Then she turned to duck back into the cave. Muse: at 11:43 PM Hey. Wait a second. "Hang on!" he called, pulling away from Goro and following after her. "You know Amren?!" Izzy: at 11:44 PM She paused and looked back. "Sure did." Muse: at 11:46 PM "Did?" Roddy paused, feeling worried. "Is he- is he okay? I mean I know last time I saw him I got him arrested and all but- he didn't get killed or anything did he?" Izzy: at 11:48 PM "Oh." She seemed taken aback by the response. "I don't actually fuckin' know. Seemed fine last I saw." She crossed her arms, looking uncomfortable. "All I meant was, uh. I don't know him anymore. And you should watch your back. Don't think he's too happy with you." Lina: at 11:51 PM Huh. Well, that was odd. Goro approached the two of them, scrutinizing Vaala. "You don't know him anymore," he repeated. "Strange. Generally, knowing someone is a permanent condition, until they die." He thought a moment longer. "Or change so drastically you don't recognize them." Muse: at 11:55 PM "He's the one that framed me for murder," Roddy protested, although it lacked a lot of heat. More automatic reaction than anything. He grabbed Goro's sleeve, twisting the fabric around in his hand. First Arynis. Now Vaala... What had happened to Roddy's brother? Izzy: at 11:58 PM Vaala gave Goro a cold stare. It softened when she looked back to Roddy. "Yeah. Sounds about right. Sorry about -- well. The role I played in all that. Guess when it turns out you're dealing with someone with goddamn ... control spells, and memory-altering shit ..." She rubbed at her temple with one hand and closed her eyes for a moment, jaw tightening. December 27, 2018 Muse: 12:03 AM "Oh," Roddy said quietly. Amren had always been shady- the whole circus had been shady. But every time he heard more about what had been going on since. Made him worry. "Well um. I'm glad you're back to- you then. Could you- do you mind if I- if we- ask you some questions?" Izzy: 12:05 AM She took a breath and relaxed, crossing her arms loosely, keeping her attention on Roddy. "I don't think I can be of much help to you, if you want to know about your brother. But I'll talk to you, yeah." Muse: 12:06 AM "Oh. Well. Anything helps," he said. "Um. Do you know if- if Amren's still with the circus? Or did they- kick him out?" Izzy: 12:08 AM Vaala half-winced and shifted her weight. "He's not with'em, no. He -- from what I understand, he killed Moira, then used some kind of shapeshifting shit, or something, to impersonate her, make it seem like she hadn't been killed at all when he couldn't pin it on you." Her voice lowered. "Devin saw through it, I guess, so he killed him too. Took off. I don't know where." She glanced over her shoulder, towards the cave. Muse: 12:14 AM "Devin's dead too?" Roddy's grip on Goro's sleeve got tighter. He'd never talked much to the halfling, but he'd- always been there. And now he wasn't and neither was Moria and- that wasn't supposed to happen. "There's um. There's a thieves guild around here. They seem to work in Skyport and Glimmerton? Amren's been running with them. Or- used to at least. I haven't heard any news since we were investigating Moria's murder." He shrugged helplessly. Izzy: 12:16 AM She nodded. "Yeah. I know. Little shit just fuckin' disappeared with his goddamn guild. Don't worry about it, though." She patted Roddy's shoulder, gently. "I'm gonna take care of him." Muse: 12:20 AM Roddy glanced up, at the cave- where inside was the scrying pool. And knowing how these types worked. "Oh," he said quietly. "You're gonna kill him." Izzy: 12:20 AM "I'm gonna give him a little bit of a talkin' to," she said, calmly. Lina: 12:21 AM Goro raised one eyebrow. Muse: 12:22 AM Roddy also looked skeptical. Izzy: 12:23 AM She looked between the two of them, again. "What." Lina: 12:23 AM Goro watched her a moment longer, then smiled. "I like you. Hey, you looking for a job by chance?" Izzy: 12:25 AM "Hm. Too bad I don't like you, little man." Lina: 12:28 AM Goro's mouth dropped open. "Hot damn. Man, would you get along with my boss, though. How about him, you like him?" He jerked his thumb at Roddy. Muse: 12:29 AM Roddy abruptly stopped snickering. "Hey what- are you trying to use me as bait for a disbanded guild now?" Lina: 12:31 AM "Shh. Ripley's just taking a breather. She's gonna need some muscle on board once things start up again. Vaala, you seem like a dragon-slaying, church-corruption-defeating, gods-tremble-before-you kinda lady, am I right?" Izzy: 12:33 AM She looked at Goro impassively, arms crossed. "The hell does that mean?" Lina: 12:36 AM "It means--" Goro leaned in and smiled conspiratorially-- "We've got an opening among Skyport's best and brightest. We fight to protect the common man. There's a lot of threats out there in this crapsack world, and Joan Ripley's foot soldiers are on the march. What do you think, sound better than your current gig?" Izzy: 12:38 AM Vaala looked mildly disgusted and didn't respond. Muse: 12:43 AM "Okay Goro, I think that's enough," Roddy said, gently pressing on his shoulder so he'd back up a few steps. "So, my friend was being really weird about it, but essentially, we're both part of an adventuring team. We've done some good stuff so far! You heard about the plague in Skyport? With the black eyed puppets?" Izzy: 12:45 AM Her expression softened again, a bit, when Roddy pulled Goro back. She shifted her weight from one hip to the other. "Sure." She paused. "Graverunners, yeah?" Muse: 12:48 AM "Hey yeah you have heard of us!" Roddy said cheerfully. "Yeah we stopped that. It was a big fight, I nearly died." This time he'd refrain from mentioning their part in starting it. Especially Goro's. "So if you wanna do good, you could come hang out with us and help us kill the bad stuff. Or if you just want money, we usually get a lot of that too." Izzy: 12:49 AM She glanced over her shoulder again, considering, then looked back. "You based in Skyport, still? I don't do Skyport." Muse: 12:51 AM "We've been living in a castle outside Glimmerton lately. Cleared the bandits out of it and saved the town. And got a castle out of it. Avoiding Skyport shouldn't be a problem!" Although Roddy was curious why, but maybe that was a question better asked later. Izzy: 12:54 AM "Castle outside Glimmerton," she repeated. She was silent for a moment. "Sure. I'll look you up when I'm low on cash." She turned back to the cave, raising a hand over her shoulder. "Take care of yourselves." Muse: 3:54 PM "We shall!" Roddy called, waving as she left. Vaala was nice, he liked her. He hoped the thing with Amren went well, maybe she'd talk him out of whatever-it-was that was making him act that way. Likely not. Amren was pretty pigheaded. "I guess we better-" a wave of dizziness suddenly hit. Roddy grabbed Goro's shoulder, trying to steady himself. "On second thought I need to sit down." Lina: 4:09 PM "Oh, jeez, yeah, you do." Goro grunted and tried not to buckle against the sudden weight of a tortle leaning on him. He looked every which way for something that could function as a seat, and settled on a nearby tree stump. He guided Roddy over to it, cringing the whole way, and let out a tiny sigh of relief as he lowered Roddy down to sit. "What's going on? You feel like throwing up?" That could be a side effect of the head injury, though usually it wasn't delayed like this. Muse: 4:20 PM "Don't think so." Even while settled on the stump, Roddy kept a grip on Goro's arm. Helped him feel just a bit more stable. "Think it's- magic burnout. Was really exhausted last time. Took days for me to feel up to walking around unassisted." Didn't remember being dizzy like this, but he'd also been sleeping a lot, may have slept through it. Lina: 4:24 PM "Well. Shit. It's alright, though. When Hansel gets here, I bet he's bringing Mishka with him, and Mishka should be able to take you straight back to the castle." Goro noticed the way Roddy was squeezing his arm, still. He'd also noticed the way Roddy kept clutching his sleeve while they'd been talking to Vaala. Kind of made him smile. Made him feel protective, too. Man, this kid was annoying sometimes, but he really was just a kid. He needed people looking out for him.(edited) Muse: 4:35 PM Roddy nodded. Yeah. That'd be fine. And they were out in the open now and all the monsters were in the cave- barring bandits showing up (or Amren, somehow) they'd be fine. They could wait. "Wish I had enough magic to tell Hansel we were okay," Roddy said. "They're gonna be all worried." Lina: 4:44 PM "Yeah. Not too worried, though, I bet. They know we're together." Coyote: 8:47 PM to Hansel and Mishka Hansel grabbed Mishka from his study. Mishka quietly read Hansel when he stepped in. Hansel seemed calm and collected, which meant the problem wasn’t that bad. Goro and Roddy were hurt, Hansel had said. Some kind of cave-in. That’s all Hansel had said. That’s all Hansel had needed to say, and Mishka had set aside his books and research and followed him out of the room. It felt good to slip back into this: The way they worked together without really talking. Mishka grabbed his green emerald-dust chalk and scrawled a handdrawn circle on the floor. He needed to keep more magic set aside for this shit. Fuckin’ Graverunners, needing teleported everywhere. Once they were back at the estate, Hansel took off. Walking fast and steady away from the estate, pausing just long enough for Mishka to stuff the chalk in his pocket and catch up. The scrying pool, it seemed, was in a series of ruins deep in the woods, down a long overgrown path. Hansel walked in front, his trident held loose but steady in his hand. Mishka followed behind, scanning the woods around them. Yeah. Felt fucking good to be working together again. Mishka kept rubbing the ring on his finger, feeling the grooves where the orcish letters were cut. Finally, they broke through the trees. Roddy sat on a stump, bent over like he was out of breath or in pain. Goro looked— Goro was fine. Right. Of course he was fine. They were both fine. All good. “Ah, there you are,” Mishka said. “Excellent. See, normally this is the point where I’d bravely announce that your rescuers have arrived, but I see you’ve already rescued yourself. Pity.” He kept scanning the forest for threats, though. Hansel did too. Lina: 8:51 PM "Took you long enough," Goro said, and patted Roddy on the shoulder. "We actually waited so long the cave simply decayed around us. Good to see your faces again, though." Muse: 8:54 PM "Mishka! Hansel!" Roddy waved, beaming. Thought about trying to get up, but decided not to. Looked a little far and he wasn't sure he could make it. "Yeah we got rescued by a really tall person. Heeeee's-" Roddy drug it out glancing at Goro to see if he got it right "-gonna come hang out with sometime." Lina: 8:56 PM "She," Goro said under his breath. Muse: 8:57 PM "She," Roddy corrected. "She's gonna come hang out with us sometime."(edited) Izzy: 9:02 PM Hansel checked the forest, looking and listening carefully, then checked Mishka's expression to see if he'd caught anything Hansel hadn't. All seemed clear. Roddy and Goro were calm, seemed unhurt. All right. He kept his silver trident in hand anyway. He wanted to hug the kid, but -- ah, fuck, he didn't think he should push it. If he went to Goro instead, though, or first, it might make the kid jealous. So he just stood where he was, uncomfortably, flexed his fingers around the trident. "Still recruiting for the guild, eh?" Coyote: 9:08 PM “Kitten,” Mishka said. “Motek,” he said to Roddy. “Both of you. Darlings. You’re all dirty and dusty. Bloody, too. You don’t have head injuries, do you? What’s two plus seven? Who’s the current Prince of Skyport? How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?” He went to pinch Goro's cheek. While he was over there, he skimmed them both quietly, quickly. They both seemed fine. Mishka relaxed an inch. Lina: 9:10 PM Goro batted Mishka's hand away. "I'm good apart from a headache, which your questions aren't helping. Roddy had it worse, but he's all fixed up now. He saved my life in there." Muse: 9:14 PM "I burned my magic out," Roddy added. "And Goro fixed up my head wound. Um. Two plus seven is nine and I never knew who the prince was before I got knocked on the head. And that's a tongue twister it doesn't have an answer." There, that should be reassuring. "Not sure if I can walk home though. Cause of magic!" he hurriedly added. "Cause magic burnout. Not- injury." Izzy: 9:18 PM Hansel was fucking dying over the fact that he couldn't hug Roddy, so he gave up and just went over to grab Goro instead, briefly lifting him off his feet, one-armed. (Staying on guard, with the trident. In case.) "Fuck, Roddy," he said mildly. "I thought we agreed to skip the almost dying and shit. Good job, though. The fuck are you two doing out here getting in trouble for anyway."(edited) Muse: 9:21 PM Roddy missed Hansel's hugs. He'd come to Skyport to clear his head, try to get over this weird hangup. And you know- it had worked. "Hansel, hey, Hansel," he said, reaching up and grabbing his shoulder. Heaved up and half collapsed on him, and folding his arms around both of them. "Missed you," he said. "Was gonna try to find the Scion with the pool. Didn't work though. And then there were monsters." Izzy: 9:26 PM Ah, thank fuck. Hansel immediately hugged Roddy back tightly, then let up, realizing that might hurt him. Fucking monsters, eh. Hadn't he killed enough goblins and shit the first time he'd been at this cave? "I missed you too, kid." He patted Roddy's shell carefully. "Sorry it didn't work out. We'll find some other way, all right?" Muse: 9:35 PM "Wish it had worked," Roddy muttered. Woulda made things simple. But no. And now the light-headedness was getting worse. "Need to sit back down," he said, staggering back a little and only barely managing to not fall off the stump. Magic burnout was the worst. He put his head down, closing his eyes and waiting for the dizziness to pass. Lina: 9:38 PM Goro shrugged at Hansel. "I can't do anything for him. He's healed up, but uh, this magic burnout thing. Sounds like he needs to just sleep it off. His head's alright, though." Coyote: 9:40 PM Huh, Mishka thought, glancing at Roddy. Interesting. Mishka drained himself dry all the time. He almost enjoyed doing it-- enjoyed pushing himself to the limit. And he enjoyed feeling... mortal, afterwards. Human, somehow. Burnout. Maybe it was a bard thing. Or Roddy's magic just worked differently from his. Mishka kept looking around. His eyes settled on the entrance to the cave, lingering. His eyes glittered. “So…” he said, after a long moment of silence. “A scrying pool, huh.” Izzy: 9:44 PM Hm. Shit. Anyone else Hansel could just carry back to the estate -- most of the way, at least -- but Roddy was trickier. Mishka could teleport him, in legs, but -- "Mishka," he said patiently, "let's fuckin' get our injured crewmates back to the castle. Can you crack Roddy back? I can't carry him. I'll show you the scrying pool after." Coyote: 9:55 PM "Neshama. There's nothing to worry about," Mishka said, waving his hand. "Problem is already solved. Watch." He went to a large flat area of cobblestone-- likely the ruins of some old building, now knocked down. He pulled out the green chalk again and drew another teleportation circle. Mishka motioned. "If you can help him over this way, I can teleport all of us directly to the castle. Joan will be there with more healing magic." He kept one eye on the ruins, still. If more monsters came out, then Mishka and Hansel would have to defend Roddy and Goro. They were too weak right now. Muse: 10:04 PM Roddy waited to feel Hansel and Goro supporting him before trying to get up. If he did it on his own he'd probably fall over. "Uh y'know how you asked if I felt like I was gonna throw up? I might have to change my answer to that." Ugh. Felt so queasy. The three managed to get over to the circle without any incidents- tripping or puking or otherwise. Despite the fact Roddy had his eyes shut the whole time. Seemed to help with the dizziness. Coyote: 10:06 PM Mishka reached out and grasped around in the air until he felt something. It felt like sinking his fingers into soft, invisible fabric. He tore, and he ripped open a hole in the air. He stepped back, motioning them quickly. He could only keep it open six seconds. Izzy: 10:08 PM "Make you some tea when we get home, kid," Hansel promised. "You'll feel better." He pulled the other two through the rip quickly, holding his breath, watching Mishka to make sure he was coming behind them. Coyote: 10:13 PM Mishka stepped through, smooth and quick, just as the portal shut. They were all standing on the stone destination circle back in the castle. Baths. They needed baths. And food. And tea. But mostly baths. Mishka snapped his fingers at them several times. "C'mon. Water. Scrubbing. Soap. Don't track blood in my castle." He went towards the upstairs, then stopped. "Ah, shit. Mm. Hm. Maybe we should dimension step Roddy up to the baths." Lina: 10:14 PM "Mishka," Goro said. "Come here a second." Coyote: 10:16 PM Mishka stopped dead. Stared at Goro, amused. This was a trap. Mishka didn't mind falling into traps, though. And he wanted to know what Goro was going to do. Curiosity got the better of him. He made an impulse decision and walked over to Goro. "Yes, kitten?" Lina: 10:24 PM Goro reached out and took Mishka by the hand--just the hand, to start, to see how he'd react. Slowly, he stepped forward and pulled him into a hug. "Thank you," he said softly, close to Mishka's ear. "For doing all this." Mishka had frozen up at first, but after that he put his arms around Goro. They pulled apart at the same time, each taking a step back, but Goro kept one hand on Mishka's shoulder. With the other he pointed at Mishka's clothes, now dotted with the same blood that was all over Goro's--some of it his own, some Roddy's, some the aboleth's probably. "Oh. Sorry about that." He grinned. Coyote: 10:33 PM Goosebumps rippled up Mishka's back when Goro spoke in his ear. Mishka tensed-- forced himself to relax-- tensed again. Yeah, this was a fuckin' trap. Felt good, though. Really good. He could feel the shape of Goro's body, and this close, he could tell that Goro was-- in fact-- fine. "It's fine," Mishka said, amused. "I'm used to blood on my clothes." His hand lingered on Goro's waist, and then he made himself drop it. Muse: 10:36 PM In the background, Roddy retched. Between his queasiness, and then the teleportation... Yep. Everything in his stomach was coming out and spewing all over the floor, and Hansel's shoes. Maybe Goro and Mishka's too. "Sorry," he managed to get out, and then he was puking again. Muse: 11:00 PM END Title: "Cave" Summary: Goro and Roddy go to the scrying pool to find the Scion. It doesn't work, but they do find an aboleth! After nearly dying and the ceiling caving in, they hang out and bond while waiting for rescue. Category:Text Roleplay